Sijya is an independent designer and mixed media artist living and working in New Delhi. After studying Graphic Design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, she has been working predominantly in the space of music, art and culture, most recently working on album art and visuals for music. As an artist, she carries out formal experimentation with video, animation, code and now electronic music. She has twice been selected as a semifinalist for Adobe Design Achievement Awards and her work has been showcased at Exhibition Milk Lab-Paris, the Irregulars Art Fair-India.

“I had been working with electronic musicians as a graphic designer, creating their artwork and visual identities. I had been drawn to working with music for a long time and the Music Production Program at GMI seemed like a perfect fit for me to learn this skill, and it so turned out to be. I started with next to no prior expertise in music and I have been making music daily ever since I finished the course. I now find the composition process quite intuitive and it is exceedingly enjoyable. With electronic music composition added to my existing visual art and design skills, I hope to do more mixed media work in the future. I find myself continuing to work a lot with music, and it feels great to get extended support from the very warm people at GMI.”

Anhad Khanna is an Indian producer, composer and a multi-instrumentalist. Known for his Indian electronica sound, he brings a myriad of influences to his music. Anhad’s artistry ranges from performing as a session drummer to leading his live electronica act and also works as a producer for other independent singer/songwriters, documentaries and ad films. Inspired by the sounds of Asian underground, drum and bass and an interesting doze of pop – he has showcased his music and performed at almost all top venues of the city and has also gained a reasonable audience in the United States while he toured LA and Durham, North Carolina to play four shows. After performing at the Sula Fest in Nashik and opening for electronica veteran Karsh Kale on his India tour – Anhad is set to release a fresh project and a compilation of new music by the end of this year. Hinting the new project was the release of his recent single – Jiya which was premiered by Rolling Stones India a day before its worldwide release.

“I was just like any other musician getting out of school dreaming of studying music abroad without having any formal training or knowledge about how vast the academic side of music could be. I was introduced to GMI through a very casual phone conversation where I enquired about my Berklee audition only to realize how wonderful it would be for me to just stick to my roots and study here. That was for sure one of the best decisions I made and luckily I was one of the first few students to be a part of their new campus. My musicianship was obviously getting better as I spent all my time at the school learning from the best faculty I possibly could find but what made GMI so special for me was the comfort and the encouragement I received from the management, faculty and my friends to really believe in my artistry which in return really helped me find my Identity as a musician. The way the course was designed always made me feel as if it was personally made for me and my time spent in the tech lab, practice rooms and every other classroom made me feel so much more inspired to keep pushing myself. Its the perfect place to fall out of your comfort zone and still be around it!”

Dhruva Bharath is an avid piano player of the Western Classical and Jazz repertoire,  Jazz Composition major at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, USA, Musical Harmony enthusiast, an aspiring composer, and arranger, recently turned private piano teacher and an overall buff or ‘Cupcake’ towards all of the performing arts. His pursuit towards a musical career was shaped by his upbringing in a household where music was highly appreciated. At the tender age of five, he started taking cello lessons under the Suzuki method of instruction. At the age of seven, he transitioned to a completely different musical tradition and discipline – Hindustani Classical Tabla under the tutelage of the late Ustad Raju Kulkarni.

After giving his 10th-grade board examinations, Dhruva was introduced to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Whilst doing his London College of Music piano grades at the Octavium School of Music had heard about Global Music Institute in New Delhi. Having only been taught Classical piano, he had no prior knowledge of improvised music. His jazz piano teacher, Aman Mahajan introduced him to GMI.

Dhruva received acceptance at GMI in August with a scholarship. There he studied jazz piano under the tutelage of Austrian pianist and composer – David Six and played with New Zealand Bass player – Isaac Smith and also received his first acceptance into Berklee during the start of 2016. He chose not to go and continued his education at GMI and received another scholarship to study at their new campus in Greater Noida. He studied under Spanish guitarist Antonio Molina Moya and Bharath and continued as a student until he received another acceptance into Berklee in 2017.

He has currently finished his second semester there studying with Jazz pianists like John Mulroy, Steve Heck, Eric Byers, Saxophonist Gail McArthur-Browne, Bassists Lello Mollinari and Dave Hollander and Guitarist Steve Rochinski.

“My time at Global Music Institute was one of the most valuable experiences in the foundational stages of my musical career. GMI further solidified my understanding of artistry in general. This not only involved musical knowledge and instrumental proficiency, but also the magnificence in performing and presentation of an art form and of course bringing joy to those you are performing before. For instance, the faculty also taught me how to perform or play. As a budding classical piano player, I would just see a sheet of music which was to be played mechanically or verbatim. At GMI I was taught that there was more to offer in music than the ability to read notation and playing quick tempo repertoire with certain degree of technical prowess. The Berklee College of Music in Boston where I am currently studying at offers a multitude of courses with several professors specializing in that particular field of study. These courses cater to the needs of all kinds of musicians. Even though I truly enjoy this extremely valuable feature at Berklee, the GMI faculty constitute of exceptional musicians who are just ‘Well-Rounded Artists’ in general. More importantly, they are there for you always”

Ishaan Gandhi is a producer from India, whose roots in drumming and percussion sprout a lush soundscape of whimsical beats and undulated ambience. Having spent his early years drumming in the independent music scene in New Delhi, he furthered his understanding of music production and sound engineering at Leeds College of Music in the UK. He returned to India to explore and bridge his musicality as a drummer/producer/mix engineer. He has just started his own audio solutions company called ‘Loophole Audio’ and is also releasing his electronic music under the alias ‘Okedo’. ‘Okedo’ is a representation of his atypical sonic leanings.

“GMI has had a very significant role to play in developing my musical foundation. Studying subjects like Ear training & harmony helped me discover the things about music I liked the most, imitate them and then be inspired by them to create my own music. The faculty was very warm and friendly, but at the same time they pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and experiment with every concept I was taught in class.”

Sonal Ajwani is a singer who grew up in Delhi. She discovered her interest in music while pursuing theatre in college. Soon she began working full-time but her interest in music continued to brew. She started taking voice lessons while working full-time for many years. She studied at Delhi School of Music and ArtTree intermittently. Eventually, she quit her job and decided to pursue music full-time. She completed her One Year Performance Certificate (Vocals) at the Global Music Institute (2015-2016) under the guidance of Mara Nesrallah, Aleksandra Denda and Julie Hill.

One of her projects is with Finnish producer and musician, Jukka Packalen. So far, they have released one single, “Reach Out”, that is available as a commercial release on Nimbit Music.

At GMI, she met Delhi-based guitarist, Karan Mahajan. The two formed a collaboration that fuelled her interest in the American Blues and Folk music. They have performed as a duo at various venues like Depot 48, The Piano Man Jazz Club and Le Bistro Du Parc among others.

Currently, she is learning Piano and will continue to work on both her collaborations in the future.

“The time I spent at GMI helped in cementing fundamental music concepts. The emphasis on sight- reading, listening and rhythm (all in one Ear Training class), helped in bringing all these skills together. The Voice lessons helped in understanding the technique and in building my confidence as a singer. For me, the Ensemble class was the most challenging. It helped me understand how to function as a vocalist in a band and how to prepare for the performance and work with other musicians. The highlight of my time at GMI was the constant support and guidance that I received from all my teachers and peers, and I am truly grateful for that.”

Pushing the boundaries of musical confluence: This is the driving force of Pianist, Composer and Producer, Nirvan Athreya’s creative philosophy. Owing to a diverse musical and cultural background, Nirvan’s artistic endeavors are eclectic in nature and yet deeply rooted in traditions both classical and contemporary. By drawing inspiration from styles such as Jazz, Progressive Metal, Middle Eastern Fusion, Western Classical, Indian Classical, RnB and Electronica, he is able to make a fearless blend of the tranquil harmonies and virtuosic rhythms that are expressed in the form of composition and improvisation.

Born in 1993, India, Nirvan Athreya started Western Classical piano lessons at age 8. While studying a degree in Mathematics, aged 17, he discovered his passion for Jazz through the likes of Art Blakey, Oscar Peterson and Avishai Cohen (Bass). During his time at his first college, he started his own band, Nice Weather for Ducks that went on to win many college competitions and opened for Bands like Advaita and Tides from Nebula. Simultaneously he was enrolled at Delhi School of Music and Global Music Institute (BIN Network School) where he studied Jazz and Classical Composition. He has since collaborated with multiple renowned artists and groups across India and more recently in Boston, USA. Upon being awarded a scholarship, Nirvan is pursuing his studies at Berklee College of Music in ‘Contemporary Writing and Production’ and ‘Jazz Composition’ degrees.  At Berklee, Nirvan has taken part in multiple recital performances spanning across genres like RnB, Jazz and Middle Eastern Fusion. Examples include Annual Middle Eastern Festival 2018 where he had the honour of sharing the stage with artists like Tigran Hamasyan and Vadim Neselovsky.

“Global Music Institute (GMI) is a unique space to explore musical creativity. Most music institutions in India tend to focus solely on the Western Classical discipline. While in it’s academic capacity, Western Classical music is highly structured, analytical and challenging to learn, it tends to alienate the performer from their inherent tendency to want to create, especially in the dangerously mind-numbing way that the pedagogy is applied across schools in India. I wouldn’t brand GMI as a ‘Jazz’ school, but it borrows heavily from the philosophy of improvisation in Jazz music to inspire creativity even among musicians, like myself, who don’t have much grounding in Jazz. The key to this is unpacking your ‘creativity’ and being able to channel all your artistic influences without inhibition. GMI is a space that has the potential to inspire this creative drive, a drive that is essential for anybody to truly create fresh, uncompromising art. ”

Diyatom Deb is a professional vocalist based out of Delhi. He has been involved as a vocalist in multiple bands in Delhi since 2009. Currently, he is the lead vocalist of a Delhi based Blues Rock band – Big Bang Blues. Hailing from Shillong, Meghalaya, Diyatom  draws influence from artists like Don Henley, BB King, Paul McCartney, Siddharth Khosla from Goldspot and Stevie Wonder, and singers from different genres like Freddie Mercury,  Aretha Franklin, and Donny Hathaway. During his schooling his mother got him involved in Indian Classical Music and he got a sense of melody from Kishore Kumar.

 He was one of the top 9 contestants of The Stage Season 3 in 2017, aired on Colors Infinity. The Big Bang Blues has played at multiple venues in Delhi like The Piano Man Jazz Club, Depot48 etc. They have also traveled across India and played in venues like BFlat in Bengaluru, High Spirits Café in Pune, Someplace Else in Kolkata and Cafe Hendrix in Guwahati among several others. Diyatom was the vocalist in A Sessions, that played in multiple places in Delhi like Rumbar, The Piano Man, Fat Lulu’s, Speakeasy, Le Bistro and also in Redwing, the organizing band of Re-Rock that happens every year in Delhi. Deb boasts of solo acts in numerous places in Glasgow, Scotland such PIVO PIVO, Nice ‘n’ Sleazy and the Iron Horse Café.

He holds a 2-year training certificate in Indian Classical Music, a diploma in western vocals from Global Music Institute (GMI) and a diploma in western classical singing from Delhi School of Music. He recently completed the North-East tour and his studio-only project – ‘A Passing Glimpse’ just came out with its first EP – Shorelines, along with Karan Goyal.

“I had joined GMI in the spring semester of 2015. This was in Lajpat Nagar and I had a great learning experience. My teacher was Mara Nesrallah from Canada. I had joined GMI with an intention of getting tips on vocal improvements and learning Music Theory. Mara ensured I got both. Her advise has greatly helped me to correct my singing habits and become a better professional singer. One amazing thing she thought me was the concept of improvisation on sheet music. I owe a lot to her teachings. I would have loved to continue but unfortunately after that term have not been able to get back.”

Rythem Bansal is a professional pianist and educator based in New Delhi, India. He has been a recipient of merit-based scholarships from prestigious Berklee College of Music (Boston, USA) for the Five-Week Summer Program; Delhi School of Music and Korean Cultural Centre. Although started with self-teaching, he later studied piano from late John Raphael and completed Grade 8 in Piano with merit. Drawn to jazz and improvisational music, he also took lessons from Utsav Lal and Jacob Damelin (Canada) at Global Music Institute. He has won numerous music competitions during his time in high school. He is the house pianist at The Piano Man Jazz Club and performs every Sunday night (Musician Mixers). He is a former piano faculty at Performers Collective (formerly Gurgaon School of Music) and is currently teaching at Blue Notes School of Music and also offering private lessons.

“GMI has a nice musical environment. I opted for private piano lessons with a Canadian jazz pianist Jacob Damelin for 1 semester in 2015. It was my first experience in taking jazz piano lessons formally. Jacob helped me with basic improvisation mainly focusing on rhythm and choice of notes and frequently recommended records for listening to get constant inspiration. During my time in GMI, I also attended a couple of workshops that were quite insightful and fun.”

Tarana Marwah is an Indian producer, composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist . She has been trained in Western Classical Piano at the tender age of 7, and has since learnt varies styles of music including Jazz Performance, and Electronica. During her college years in Delhi University, she became known as the President of Crescendo – The WMS from Sri Venkateswara College. ‘Komorebi’ (Japanese for sunlight that filters through tree leaves) is Electronic Act from New Delhi and her musical baby. Inspired by scores from Anime and chiptune music she heard as a kid, the music is whimsical, orchestral, celestial. Tarana released her first self-titled EP in 2015, after which the act gained mercurial success. Some notable performances at festivals including NH7 Weekender, Magnetic Fields, Red Bull Tour Bus, Echoes of Earth, Wonderflip, Chandiga’ah, and Music Matters in
Sri Lanka. Komorebi’s debut album released in 2017, ’Soliloquy’, has also caught the attention of many – placing Komorebi on the indie radar from India. The 8 track album features vocals on all song, with honest lyric writing, as well as Mohini Dey, Warren Mendonsa, and Sohrab Nicholson as collaborators.

“My experience at GMI was incredibly fruitful – a difficult reality check at times, very intense, but equally important for any student. The workshops were carefully curated to teach us things we perhaps could learn ourselves….only over decades and decades of time, after much back and forth, the incredibly hard way, as opposed to something simple and easily understood courtesy a mature and kind teacher. We grew very fond of our teachers as well, developing friendships outside of the workspace. I particularly enjoyed conversations about the art of listening and the occasional ensemble. I learned a lot about composition, theory – most of which I apply to all of the songwriting, composing, and performing I take part in today. I encourage anyone who wants to grow up to be a full-time musician to learn the rules of the game before they can make it their own!”

Aman Sagar is a Singer-Songwriter/Guitarist/Producer who grew up in the North of India. Being exposed to a confluence of Eastern and Western cultures from a young age, he found his outlet in music and taught himself the guitar. At 18, he moved to New Delhi to pursue a degree in English Literature and study music formally on the side. He quickly became a regular session player in the circuit and toured across the country with a variety of bands and artists. In the summer of 2016, Aman was awarded the A R Rahman Scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music and he is currently pursuing a degree in Electronic Production and Design.

Aman describes his music as being rooted in the rich tradition of Rhythm and Blues, but branching out to contemporary pop and electronic music. “I have always been an admirer of a musician’s ability to connect to a group of people at an emotional level and move them in a way that inspires them. To sustain a reciprocal relationship of personal thought with an audience through music is as close to a superpower as it gets.  And so I strive to engage people from all walks of life into reaching out to their subconscious and vocalizing their thoughts through my music.” He Plans to record his debut album in the summer of 2018. 

“Studying at GMI exposed me to some great music and musicians. I was able to analyze the music I was listening to and gain much more from it, which consequently helped me in my own writing. I took Harmony and Ear Training with Jacob Damelin, which really enhanced my overall musicality and the ability to efficiently communicate with other musicians.”

Abhishek Sekhri, music producer, composer and cinematographer is 26 years old, and works from his studio called ‘Kintsugi Studios’. Kintsugi Studios is a creative audio and video production studio that he started almost 3 years back. Since then he has had a chance to work with various production houses and video content makers such as ScoopWhoop, Newslaundry, Purple Pink, Penguin Tales, Bright Canvas Films, Tariq Vasudeva and Small Screen Media as a composer and mix/master engineer. He recently mixed and mastered a short film directed by Tariq Vasudeva which got selected to at the Moscow International Film Festival as the only Indian film to be selected in the short film category. In 2016, he also mixed and mastered a ScoopWhoop documentary for screening at the Mami Film Festival. Over the course of these years he has also had the opportunity to work with some of the most amazing independent artists such as Komorebi, Reka Fodor (percussionist for Estas Tonne), Luiza & Pedro, Jordan Johnson, Easy Wanderlings, Tarkash, Takar Nabam, Run It’s The Kid, Bhrigu Sahni, and many more. This has been possible because of a music performance video series that he started almost 2 years back called ‘Kintsugi Sessions’. It is a series aimed at promoting original music from around the world which is created by independent artists. They currently have 22 episodes featuring artists from India, USA, Brazil, Hungary, Argentina and Mexico. They recently collaborated with Jack Daniels and The Piano Man Jazz Club for two of the episodes of the series which will be releasing soon. Last year, they also got recognition for the series from Rolling Stone India, Mint Lounge, and Wild City. Apart from this, he is currently working on his independent electronic music project, the content for which will be released by the end of this year.

“My musical journey started from learning guitar at the age of 13 and that was my primary area of focus in music till about 8 years. During the later time of my learning I attended Global Music Institute for one semester as a full-time student. Although I am a self-learnt music producer and mix/master engineer, GMI had a big role to play in helping me build a strong musical foundation. It was one of the most aggressive learning curves for me. I took classes on ear training, harmony, basic keyboard and more from these amazing teachers and musicians – Tarun Balani, Aditya Balani, Grant Richards, Gina Savino, Priscilla Vela. I think the most important thing that GMI taught me was the skill to listen, and listen carefully. Whether it’s working with a session musician, producing music for an artist, recording and mixing a track or composing music for an advertisement or short film, listening carefully is the most important thing, I believe.”

Born and raised in Varanasi, Ankur Prakash finished his engineering in Electronics & Communications from IT-BHU (now IIT-Varanasi) in 2004, moved to Noida and started working with with Adobe (for more than a decade). During his employment, he got introduced to guitar through a friend and started learning the instrument. Meanwhile, his interest also moved towards Hindustani Classical Music and he thought of exploring this musical form on Acoustic Guitar. In 2011, he came to know about Global Music Institute via Social Media. He was part of the first batch at GMI and started learning Fundamentals of Music from Tarun. Also, started learning Hindustani Classical by Suhail Yusuf Khan. In 2013, Suhail introduced him to Music Basti and that’s when he applied for the ReSound program. He has always loved spending time with children and music education to at-risk children resonated with his ideology. He got lucky to get selected and believes Music Basti gave him the purpose he was seeking. Last year he quit his job and joined Music Basti full-time as Program Manager.

“Aditya helped me in improving guitar technique and Tarun helped me understand the nuances of rhythm. I continued learning Hindustani Classical music from Suhail, later Ujwal Nagar. GMI to me is Mecca for musicians in Delhi NCR. It has helped with music education, making friends and gave me a purpose. I am glad to be a student at GMI.”

Kamakshi Khanna is a Delhi Based Singer/Songwriter who believes she is an old soul, Kamakshi Khanna is an effervescent voice that brings life to experiences and stories through her songs. Her work ranges from singing in Acapella choirs to being one of the top six contestants on India’s first English singing reality show, The Stage (Season 1). Her releases include an EP (Much Mellow) in 2015 and an album (Cakewalk) in 2017. Kamakshi Khanna is a creator of raw, organic songs and tunes that emerge from an intricate mixture of her experiences and epiphanies. A voice that goes through various styles, including but not limited to Rhythm and Blues, Soul, Pop and Ballads. Lyrically, her songs talk about her interactions and tiffs with life and the things that make her appreciate the present. All of 24, her ability to delve and explore newer paths and collaborate with musicians from all walks of and stature set her apart in the next generation of music from India.

“GMI was my first experience studying concepts like music theory, composition, ear training, piano, voice and how to work in an ensemble. I’ve trained and studied under so many exceptional teachers at GMI who are not only great at their skill and the art of teaching but have always been great human beings. I owe a lot of my sensibilities and values as an artist to this institute. What Aditya, Tarun, Megha and Pattie have done over the years has brought a culture of awareness, discipline, humility, a thirst for knowledge and an environment conducive to growth and learning especially in the independent music circuit in Delhi. I feel grateful to have come to know of, learnt and be associated with such a well rounded and beautiful space. “

Dhruv Goel is a composer, music producer and vocalist based in Los Angeles, USA.

Born in Lucknow, Dhruv grew up in New Delhi studying Indian Classical music under Pandit Nirmalaya Dey. He then graduated in Electronic Production and Sound Design from Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Dhruv composes music for various TV shows/films and has worked as a composer/vocalist at Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions in Los Angeles. He has performed with artists such as A. R. Rahman, produced a sample library with Splice Sounds based in New York and has been composing music for Facebook.

“Being at GMI in 2012 was a very important part of my musical journey. I was fortunateto learn from some amazing musicians (like Julian Shore and Rita Maria) and made some
lifelong friends”

Charita is a singer/songwriter from New Delhi, India, currently studying MA Music Business Management from University of Westminster, London. Her interest lies mainly in the genres of Jazz, folk, and alternative, which shine through her original compositions. At the moment, she is trying to explore the music industry through the management lens and is also in the process of getting her first EP together.

” In the summer of 2012, I joined GMI for private lessons. I’d been performing for a while in school and college competitions, however, I had never been trained formally. GMI soon became more than just a music school for me. I learned the importance of patience, discipline, practice, and listening! Every faculty contributed towards my growth in a different way. Just being inside the GMI building, surrounded by music and the constant motivation to create was what made me the musician and person I am today. GMI challenges your musical interpretation and perception and encourages you to step out of your comfort zone. I think that’s probably my favorite part about GMI.”